Friday, January 1, 2010

Terrebonne, Quebec

History

The city of Lachenaie is the oldest one and was founded in 1670 by Lord Charles Aubert de Lachenaye. Some natives were already present on this territory at the time. The colonisation really started in 1647 when Lachenaie was merged with the Repentigny Seigniory. Louis Lepage de Ste-Claire, priest, canon, and the son of René Lepage de Sainte-Claire, acquire the seigniory of Terrebonne on September 2, 1720. The abbot Louis Lepage de Ste-Claire built the first church in 1734 and the first manor in 1735. A few years later, the abbot Lepage equipped the city with a saw mill and a flour mill.

The city of La Plaine was founded in 1830 on fragments of other cities, namely Mascouche, Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Saint-Lin and Terrebonne. At that time, the lords of Terrebonne and Lachenaie built the road named "chemin de la Grande Ligne" to join the two cities. It is now called the boulevard Laurier. In 1877, the rail system was developed and stimulated the economic growth. The village of Saint-Joachim was founded during that time, which was later, in 1920, to be renamed La Plaine.

The first lord of Terrebonne was André Daulier-Deslandes, who got his title in 1673. After the construction of the first wooden bridge in 1834, two main areas emerged. The commercial area was Terrebonne, and the agricultural was Saint-Louis de Terrebonne. In 1985, the two cities merged.

Geography

Terrebonne is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in western Quebec. It is located on the north shores of the Rivière des Mille-Îles and of the Rivière des Prairies, North of Montreal and Laval.